For half-an-hour of their home game with Everton, the [Black Cats](http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/sunderland?ref=au) were in danger of being engulfed. Trailing to Iliman Ndiaye’s superb opener, and rocking as Jack Grealish and Thierno Barry both went close to adding a second, Regis Le Bris’ side were unable to live with Everton’s attacking.
Other sides might well have gone under. But after steadying themselves at the end of the first half, Sunderland set about completely dominating the second. Granit Xhaka equalised with a deflected strike within a minute of the interval, but for all that they had Everton rocking after the break, the Black Cats were unable to claim a winner.
Even so, they emerged with considerable credit given the extent to which their mettle had been tested, with the draw lifting them back into the top four and ensuring they remain unbeaten at the Stadium of Light this season.
Xhaka was the catalyst for their revival, powering his way through midfield, but it was the collective intensity of Sunderland’s second-half play that was most impressive. Whatever is thrown at them, this is a side that relishes rolling with the punches.
Sunderland began the game playing with a back five, but as was the case at Chelsea, their defensive formation was fluid. When Everton had possession, Trai Hume lined up as a fairly orthodox right wing-back; when Sunderland had the ball, the Northern Irishman broke upfield and pushed inside to try to hand his side a numerical superiority in midfield.
Enzo Maresca admitted Chelsea had not been prepared for Regis Le Bris’ tactical switch – clearly, David Moyes, on his return to the Stadium of Light, had done his homework much more diligently.
Everton swarmed all over Sunderland from the off, forcing their opponents into a series of erratic, hurried passes and making the Black Cats look more uncomfortable than at any other stage this season.
The visitors might have scored after just nine seconds, with James Garner flashing a low shot just wide of the target after Dan Ballard failed to adequately deal with Jordan Pickford’s long clearance, and deservedly claimed the lead 15 minutes in.
It was a controversial goal from a Sunderland point of view, with Noah Sadiki feeling he had been fouled as Barry robbed him of possession close to the touchline. It was a decision that could have gone either way, but from the moment Tom Bramall opted to allow play to continue, Ndiaye’s individual brilliance shone through.
The Senegalese forward picked up the loose ball, broke between Ballard and Xhaka, and after skipping around Lutsharel Geertruida, bent a superb left-footed strike into the far corner. There won’t be many better goals scored at the Stadium of Light this season.
There won’t be many worse misses than the one produced by Barry shortly before the half-hour mark either, though, with the Everton forward somehow prodding over from three yards out after Grealish swung over a cross from the left.
It was a staggering miss, but coming just six minutes after Grealish struck the base of the left-hand post with a shot from just outside the area, it nevertheless served to emphasise the extent to which Everton were dominating the game.
Bramall’s erratic refereeing wasn’t helping the home side’s mood – Sadiki felt compelled to take matters into his own hands as he was booked for an ill-tempered lunge at Jake O’Brien – but to their credit, the Black Cats gained a foothold in the game towards the end of the first half, with Michael Keane making a couple of crucial blocks.
That momentum swing proved crucial, with Sunderland equalising within a minute of the start of the second half. Enzo Le Fee’s driving run into the box proved crucial, as while his initial shot was blocked, the Frenchman was able to lay the ball back to Granit Xhaka. The skipper’s 20-yard effort took a huge deflection off James Tarkowski’s foot, with the ball flying into the roof of the net to hand him his first goal for the Black Cats.
Suddenly, the game was completely transformed, and when Xhaka and Le Fee swapped roles three minutes later, with the former setting up the latter, Pickford did superbly to claw away another shot that took a big deflection.
Sunderland’s physicality was a major factor in their revival, with the intensity of the Black Cats’ second-half play turning the tables completely and leaving Everton every bit as unsettled as the hosts had appeared for much of the first half.
Xhaka led the way, driving his way through the heart of midfield, with Nordi Mukiele and Trai Hume’s willingness to throw themselves into any kind of challenge further fuelling Sunderland’s sense of purpose that was more than worthy of securing a point.